


A Quasi-Holiday

by Piano_Padawan



Series: The Nice Kind of Insane: Poe x Hux Modern AU [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Day At The Beach, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piano_Padawan/pseuds/Piano_Padawan
Summary: In which Poe Dameron likes the ocean, and the ocean does not like Armitage Hux.(A writing exercise of sorts for the GingerPilot Summer Event 2019).





	A Quasi-Holiday

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of the associated characters, themes, names, etc. All copyrighted material is intended to be used for transformative, creative purposes.

“I could have _died_ back there!”

Armitage was crouched in a flimsy beach chair, his arms wrapped around himself, red hair soaked with saltwater. He was shaking as much from shock as from the physical cold, swaddled in a blanket which (as the multicolored pawprint pattern implied) smelled of Poe’s corgi, Beebee.

“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?” Poe said, wrapping the blanket tighter around his partner who scowled back at him. “It could be worse. And you’ve got to admit, it was fun earlier…”

“Ah yes.” Armitage coughed. He could still taste the gallon of saltwater the ocean had forced down his throat. “Nothing more fun than almost getting drowned by a tidal wave.”

He gave the ocean an accusing glare. It had looked perfectly harmless a few minutes ago, when Poe’s pestering had finally coaxed him further down the shoreline. He hadn’t planned to do anything more than dip his toes into the water (his business casual beachgoing attire wasn’t well suited for swimming), but that hadn’t stopped the ocean from dragging him under a seven-foot-tall wave.

Of course, the wave had conveniently spared Poe, who was still grinning like an idiot, tanned skin glistening with water. He looked like he was having the time of his life. Meanwhile, Armitage felt like a sopping mess. If he hadn’t been so preoccupied trying to resurface when it hit him, he might have dragged his partner in along with him. It didn’t seem fair that he was the one who suffered when it hadn’t been his idea to go into the water to begin with.

“At least you got to try the water,” Poe tried to cheer him up. “It’s not much of a beach vacation if you just stay away from the ocean the whole time.”

Armitage had never understood what immense joy there was in gallivanting in saltwater saturated with fish shit, but he had realized long ago that Poe’s ideas of “fun” often differed from his own.

“Oh, I certainly ‘tried’ it,” Armitage grumbled. “And for the last time, this is not a vacation. I’m here on business. And this is barely a beach.”

He gestured irritably at the space around them. It was a rather pathetic beach, more like a crude sandbank, abounding in trash, which happened to border a stretch of very grey ocean. He definitely didn’t see it as a vacation spot, but Poe, being the twenty-four-year-old child that he was, had convinced himself that they were at some kind of oceanic paradise. So, as soon as he’d discovered that the hotel for Armitage’s conference was within walking distance of the ocean, he had dragged his boyfriend outside.

“It has sand; it has an ocean. So, it’s a beach.” Poe seemed rather proud of this infallible logic. “And you’re off of work now. The conference isn’t until tomorrow.” His smile faded when he saw that Armitage was still shivering, olive green eyes glowering at him from under the blanket. “You want to go back to the hotel, dear?”

“Was that not already clear?” Armitage snapped.

His limbs hadn’t quite thawed when he got to his feet. Nonetheless, he raced ahead of Poe in his eagerness to get back to inside, nagging his boyfriend to ‘hurry up’ the whole way back to the hotel. Once they were back in the privacy of their room, he wasted no time in stripping out of his soaked clothing and dashing into the shower.

Normally, he would have been a little more hesitant to undress in front of Poe. He knew such nerves were irrational at this point. They’d been cohabiting for nearly two years now. But the old self-consciousness was hard to break. He’d been ridiculed by the other military brats for his scrawny frame as a youth. Even after passing his more awkward phase, he’d always had limbs with proportionally less muscle for their length. Poe said it made him more attractive. Armitage sometimes wondered whether Poe’s taste in men was yet another extension of his broader insanity, but it seemed to have worked to his advantage either way.

“Are you doing okay in there?” Poe called from the other side of the bathroom door. If it had been anyone else, Armitage would have taken the earnest concern in the question as an insult.

“I’m fine,” Armitage said. The warm water did well to counteract the chills. He only hoped that the drain wouldn’t be clogged with sand afterwards.

When he had finished his bath, he wrapped himself in a fresh towel, one that was pleasantly free of wet-dog scent. He pulled on a fresh shirt and pants before stepping out. Their hotel room was a modest one, not like the luxury suites he’d stayed in for his old job at his father’s company. Judging by the size, it was better designed for one person, but the bed had room for both of them, so long as Poe didn’t decide to do midnight leg stretches like the previous night.

“Feeling better?” Poe asked.

“Well, considering I no longer have a pound of sand stuck to places I never thought sand could go, this is an improvement.” Armitage had just finished drying his hair when he noticed his partner’s bemused smile. “What are you laughing about?”

“Your hair,” Poe sniggered.

Armitage huffed and attempted to pat down the ruffled locks, only to have them bounce back. He hoped that he had remembered to pack his hair gel. Ben would never let him hear the end of it if he came to the conference looking this. (Armitage had fought with his coworker on more than one occasion about what constituted a “professional hairstyle” among other things.)

 “There’s still over two hours of daylight left,” Poe remarked. “We could give the beach another try later if…”

“Over my dead body.” Armitage thought back to his encounter with the wave. “I mean that literally.” He could see Poe pouting behind him in the mirror. “If you want to go by yourself, you’re free to do so over the next two days, unless you want to join me begging for research grants at the conference.”

“I know, but it’s more fun with you.”

Poe sauntered over to the where Armitage was rummaging through the luggage in search of his hair gel and wrapped an arm around the taller man.

“Really, Hugs,” he said. “Just give the water another try. It’s fun once you get used to it. I’m sure we can find you a swimsuit in one of the shops around here.”

“I don’t really fancy charging half-naked into the sea like you.”

“Okay then. We don’t have to go into the water. We could just walk around. You can’t seriously just want to sit around in the hotel for the rest of the day…”

“Try me.”

The forbidden words slipped out before Armitage could catch them. He sighed. Now, the issue had been phrased as challenge, and as such, he had just made it impossible for Poe to back down.

“There’s really nothing I can do to convince you?” Poe whined. “That’s really too bad.”

“Indeed,” Armitage grumbled. “Now, move your arm. I’m trying to look for something here and you’re in my way.”

“Yeah, that’s really too bad,” Poe drawled. “I guess you’ll miss out on the ice cream then.”

Armitage glanced up from the cluttered suitcase, his brow knitted in confusion.

“What the hell does ice cream have to do with this?” he groaned

“There’s this boardwalk ice cream shop just a little further down the beach,” said Poe. “I checked it out this morning while you were doing your paperwork. Looks like they have that elderberry flavor you’re crazy about to.”

“Hmm. We can go there after dinner, I suppose,” Armitage replied, doing his best to suppress any hint of interest. “Where is it?”

“Well, the quickest way to get there is via the beach,” Poe said with a smirk. “I can show you if you want to follow me.”

_Targeting the sweet tooth,_ Armitage thought. _Low blow, Dameron. Low blow._

“You are such a child,” he said.

“You’re the one being bribed with ice cream,” Poe retorted.

“And you’re insane if you think I can be bribed with something like that,” Armitage lied.

Poe was beaming now, the way he always did when he’d won some petty dispute.

“So, you’re coming then,” he said, eager to declare victory.

“Since you refuse to stop pestering me about it,” Armitage replied.

“Well, next time I need you to do something, I know what to persuade you with,” Poe teased. “This’ll be nice. Reminds me of the beach trips I used to take as a kid.”

“Getting nostalgic, are we?”

“Yeah, those were good times. Me and my parents used to come down every year for a week. They were into surfing, you see. They got me into it as soon as I was big enough to stand on the board myself.” He laughed. “And I got dragged under the water my fair share of times too, but it was still a blast.”

“I can imagine.”

The truth was, Armitage couldn’t imagine it, not fully anyway. Something within him always seemed to tense when he heard of Poe’s childhood recollections. It wasn’t as if he was bitter about his partner’s upbringing. He rather enjoyed hearing the amusing stories the other man had to share, the blissful reminiscing that he could never relate to and consequently found all the more intriguing.

“I used to live by the beach when I was younger, you know,” he said.

“Oh, really?” said Poe.

“Yes, well, I technically did at least,” Armitage said, ignoring the nervousness in his partner’s voice. “It was just temporary. My father was stationed at this town near the shore for a few months when I was three. I didn’t care for the water then either; I hadn’t even learned to swim yet. But I used to go out, sometimes by myself when no one was around to watch.”

He hesitated when he caught the dubious look Poe was trying to hide. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t very safe for a three-year-old to be wandering around outside alone. It wasn’t the first time he’d unwittingly revealed something that was unacceptable by most standards. He’d only realized in adulthood that he’d grown up with a very different sense of normality.

“I remember one time I found this whole heap of scallop shells,” Armitage went on, keeping his tone as light as he could. “They were all strewn by the water. I think a wave must have just washed them in. I filled up a whole plastic bag with them about this big.” He gesticulated the size. “I brought them back and hid them in my room. The unfortunate thing was that I also brought back a whole bucketful of sand with the shells, which made a mess because the bag had a hole in it. I had to throw it all out, shells and all…”

His voice trailed off as he realized he didn’t want to tell the rest of the story. It was better to leave it that way, to keep it as a frivolous memory. He needed a break from the alternative. So, he forced a laugh, letting Poe know that now wasn’t the time for any more details, and quickly changed the subject before the latter had a chance to offer any words of comfort.

“Now, returning to our plans for the evening,” he said, resuming his usual business-like tone. “We should probably plan on going out for an early dinner and then heading to the beach. We can’t have ice cream before dinner.”

“Right,” Poe said. He gave a tight smile. “Always sticking to the rules, huh, Hugs?”

“Happens when you attend a military academy from age seven up till college,” Armitage muttered. “Trust, me. I tone it down for you.” He pulled his watch from the bedside counter and slung it around his wrist. “It’s approximately a quarter to six now, not too early to head out. Go get ready. Put a shirt on. We can’t go out in a restaurant with you in swim shorts.”

“It’s the beach, no one’s going to mind,” Poe complained. “Besides, it’s hot.”

Armitage answered by throwing him a t-shirt from the suitcase. He checked his hair in the mirror. It was still rather unruly, though the gel had at least made it presentable enough to step out in public.

“You know, we could go looking for seashells here too if you want,” Poe said.

It took Armitage a moment to realize this was a serious suggestion.

“What?” he laughed. “You mean to replace the ones that got thrown out over twenty years ago?”

“Yes,” Poe hesitated. “I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought we might want to since, well… I thought maybe if that was something you still enjoyed…”

The soldier in Armitage wanted to roll his eyes and scoff at the idea of doing something so puerile as collecting seashells. He was an adult. He’d come here to seal a contract for his company, not to play on the beach…

“I’ll think about it over dinner,” he conceded. “Now, hurry up and get ready. We don’t want to be late.”

“I’ll bring a bag for the shells,” Poe said. He pecked a kiss onto Armitage’s cheek before going to wash up for dinner. “This could turn out to be a nice little vacation after all, don’t you think?”

_It’s not a vacation_. Armitage thought to correct him but decided against it. So long as he didn’t have any more near-drowning experiences, there wasn’t any harm in a _quasi_ -holiday, especially when he was in good company. There was even a chance that he’d enjoy it. A very small chance, but a chance nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments and kudos are appreciated.


End file.
